Yoga Regulations Taken to the Mat by Senate Education Committee

Regulatory overkill suffered a potential setback today in the Colorado State Senate, with the unanimous passage out of the Education Committee of SB-186, a bipartisan bill exempting yoga instructors from regulatory burdens imposed by the Private Occupational Education Act of 1981.

The question of whether or not yoga instructors require state regulation and oversight has been one of the liveliest early debates of the 2015 session, raising new questions about whether there’s any limit to what the state can or should regulate. SB-186, which was authored by freshman Sen. Laura Woods and gained a bipartisan list of co-sponsors, lays down a clear, common-sense marker against regulatory overreach by exempting yoga teacher training programs from the Private Occupational Education Act of 1981.

“The reason something as seemingly-comical as state yoga instructor regulation struck such a nerve, and stirred such debate, is that it shows just how far overbearing government can go if elected leaders don’t take a stand for common sense and regulatory restraint,” said Woods, after the Education Committee voted to approve the measure 8-0.

“Getting bipartisan agreement that new yoga teacher regulations goes too far gives me hope that the legislature will someday roll back the many other costly and unnecessary regulations weighing on Coloradans,” said Woods. “But the first step toward the wider regulatory reform we need is saying ‘no’ to unnecessary new rules before they get on the books.”

SB-186 next goes to the Appropriations Committee for a second hearing.